This paper is about how Mary Lavin deals with the complexity of being a born American writing about Irish women in Ireland, and by taking her short story "A Memory" as an example. The questions this study deals with are: How is femininity represented in "A Memory"? Does the American born author Mary Lavin follow the traditional picture of Irish women in Irish literature and its historical context? What are her motives for doing or not doing so?
For as much as there are Irish female authors, they represent a minority. When revising different anthologies of literature coming from Ireland though, one is predestined to encounter Mary Lavin’s name in at least most of them. Lavin was born in America, and that might also contribute to the fact, that she stood out between so many male writers. As published by Daphne Wolf in an Irish America magazine issue of 2013, “In the male-dominated field of Irish writers, Mary Lavin was a pioneer” (60), it is of no minor relevance to focus on her work, and how she, herself, as an Irish-American avant-gardist female author, created women in the Irish literature.
This research will firstly analyze the short story "A Memory" and the definition Lavin gives there to femininity in both a formal perspective, taking in count the story’s narrative point of view, style and theme, and its content, like the plot and the conflict of the story. Secondly, it will explain the role and position of women in the Irish society through its literature and authors, and it will explore the historical events in which women were involved during the 1960’s and 1970‘s that is the time when "A Memory" was published (1973). For this, relevant pieces of information of Irish history and analysis of Irish literature will serve to answer to the question. In the third place, this work will compare the results to Mary Lavin’s background in order to give a concise explanation for her motives, if the fact of being a born American woman has an influence in her perspective of femininity, and how she transfers that into Irish literature. Lavin’s biography and articles about her, such
as her obituary, are relevant for the study.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- Femininity in Mary Lavin's A Memory
- Women in Irish society in the 1960's and 1970's
- In Irish literature
- In Irish history
- Mary Lavin as an Irish-American woman in an Irish context
- Summary
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper examines how Mary Lavin, an American-born writer, portrays femininity in her short story "A Memory" and how her perspective on Irish women relates to both Irish literature and the historical context of the 1960s and 1970s.
- Representation of femininity in "A Memory"
- Mary Lavin's portrayal of Irish women in comparison to traditional depictions in Irish literature
- The role of women in Irish society in the 1960s and 1970s
- Influence of Lavin's American background on her perspective of femininity in an Irish context
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
- Introduction: The chapter introduces Mary Lavin as a prominent figure in Irish literature, highlighting her unique position as an American-born female writer in a predominantly male field. It defines femininity and its social context, setting the stage for an exploration of how Lavin portrays this concept in her work. The chapter also presents the research questions guiding the study.
- Femininity in Mary Lavin's A Memory: This chapter examines Lavin's short story "A Memory" focusing on how femininity is represented through the characters, plot, and narrative techniques. The chapter analyzes the portrayal of Myra, the female protagonist, in relation to traditional conceptions of Irish women and how her depiction challenges or reinforces those expectations. The analysis considers the narrative point of view, style, and thematic elements of the story.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
This research focuses on the representation of femininity in Irish literature, particularly in Mary Lavin's work. Key themes include the role of women in Irish society, Irish-American perspectives, traditional and contemporary depictions of femininity, and literary analysis of Lavin's short story "A Memory."
- Quote paper
- Benjamín Dueñas (Author), 2014, Coming into Clover. Femininity in Irish-American Literature and in Mary Lavin’s "A Memory", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/312131
